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Saturday, December 21, 2013

The common cold or How the Grinch stole Christmas

Yesterday, the semester was officially over, the town deserted, students back
home with the parents or on the road to family, or back in town to visit their
own parents from far away. The weather is gray, and a drizzle in the air. The
beautiful winter white is turning into brown slush. On top of it all by tonight
there is a ice storm warning. Ice storm means significant build up of ice on the
street, your windshield and trees which then have a tendency to crash, and take
out a few power lines. Which equals Christmas with real candles this year around and
an open fire place.

But as all things work out, in the end, perfectly, I am also still nursing my
common cold and I don’t really want to go anywhere anyhow. It had started out of
the blue on Monday night and by Wednesday night I had a full bar of liquid cold
meds on my kitchen counter. Nighttime stuff, daytime stuff. Cough suppressant.
Airborne gummy bears. But still the cold is not going anywhere. In the evening
and in the morning, 12h after taking the last dose, my head feels like exploding
again, my sinuses are so congested I feel I need an immediate removal off all my
upper teeth.

Today, it is time to stay off the OTC meds and try the natural ‘stuff’. No
mucus producing foods (dairy, red meat, sugar and white flour), instead mucus
reducing foods (raw onions, tumeric and honey, vegetables, plenty of fluids).
Hanging my head over a big bowl of hot, steaming water with chamomile or sage
every 6hs or so. Staying put. No work. Feet up. Cat snuggles. Hot bath in salty
water.

To be honest, all I can think off are the commercials of Mucinex. The
cartoons in which those big bellied, unshaven mucus bacteria characters have a
party in your lungs or nasal cavities, invite all their friends over to watch
football, and then, Mucinex to the rescue – like a tidal wave they are all
ousted from the premise.